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FDLE Releases Report On Fiery I-75 Crash That Killed Tate Grad And Family
April 27, 2012
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has released its findings on a fiery January crash in Gainesville on I-75 that claimed the lives of 11 people, including a Tate High School graduate, his 17-year old daughter and his wife.
No one acted with any criminal intent, but better communication, fixed signs and more attention to a trooper who warned that smoke could quickly roll back on to the interstate might have prevented a massive fatal crash on smoky I-75 in January, the FDLE said Thursday.
In a major review of crashes on the morning of January 29 involving 25 vehicles that killed 11 people, the FDLE said personnel at the Florida Highway Patrol and several other agencies “acted in a manner which they believed was appropriate and in the best interest of restoring the safe and orderly flow of traffic to the roadways.”
The bodies of Tate graduate Michael Hughes, his daughter Sabryna Dawn Louise Hughes and Sabryna’s stepmother Lori Hughes were found two days after the crash in a badly burned pickup truck. The truck was incinerated when it collided with a semi-truck that had stopped on I-75 due to fog and smoke conditions. The family had traveled from Pensacola to the Gainesville area to attend a funeral.
Friends said Michael Hughes grew up in the Jacks Branch Road area and was a 1990 graduate of Tate High School.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the review after the crash, in the Paynes Prairie section of Alachua County, south of Gainesville.
But FDLE found several things that it said the Highway Patrol should change, some of them immediately to avoid a repeat of the early morning crash.
Some of its main findings were that the FHP doesn’t have specific protocols on when and how to re-open roadways when visibility is low. The review recounts officers discussing the visibility and whether they think it’s OK to drive, but there’s nothing in their procedures spelling out when safety experts say it is OK, for example. FDLE also found that the Highway Patrol did little in the way of improving its smoke-and-fog procedures after a similar fatal crash on Interstate 4 in Polk County in 2008.
“The specific changes to FHP’s policies and procedures were limited, and subsequent training provided to command personnel was ineffective and poorly memorialized,” FDLE said of changes that were supposed to have been put in place after the 2008 crash.
There were several breakdowns in the early morning hours of January 29, the review found.
One of the biggest problems that appears to have contributed to the disaster was a breakdown in human communications between officers – and a failure to heed the warning of one trooper in particular, FHP Sgt. Bruce Simmons, who advised against re-opening I-75.
The review also noted that Simmons – the trooper who had suggested keeping the roadway closed – expressed anger about the ultimate decision to open it in a conversation with an Alachua deputy later that morning that was captured on his in-car video.
“I tried to tell them to leave that ’sum-buck’ closed and they wouldn’t listen to me. I said it’s going to roll in again,” Simmons can be heard saying. “….They wouldn’t freaking listen earlier….I said that it will roll in faster than you can shut it down. This crap wouldn’t have happened if he’d have listened.”
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Comments
9 Responses to “FDLE Releases Report On Fiery I-75 Crash That Killed Tate Grad And Family”
Nothing anyone says or can do will bring back those killed that fateful morning. We can only hope a lesson was learned and rules can be made to prevent it from happening again. It was a tragic accident and no one acted in such a manner that suggests they purposefully opened the roads to allow people to die.
Ed on April 27th, 2012 8:55 pm I’m not sure I understand the FDLE coverup comment. Yes, there are some cops that do wrong i.e. Flomaton Police Chief, Crestview Police Chief and others but if you check the record, FDLE is the investigating agency that caused the arrest. Concerning the accident on I-75, it was the FDLE report that revealed the neglect of an agency to listen to their people in the field. If FDLE had not completed the report no one would have this information. It sounds to me like there may be some misguided anger.
There should be some anger directed toward the cops. The one that made the call to reopen I-75 didn,t know what he was doing and would not listen to other officers. As a result of LEO stupidity, 11 people died. If you can,t understand that, you must be as dumb as the one that reopened the interstate. The FDLE had the feds. looking over their shoulder because 75 is a federal road. Someone did not do their job. Let the law suits begin. They are certainly deserved!
I’m not sure I understand the FDLE coverup comment. Yes, there are some cops that do wrong i.e. Flomaton Police Chief, Crestview Police Chief and others but if you check the record, FDLE is the investigating agency that caused the arrest. Concerning the accident on I-75, it was the FDLE report that revealed the neglect of an agency to listen to their people in the field. If FDLE had not completed the report no one would have this information. It sounds to me like there may be some misguided anger.
This news is a shock to me Michael Hughes is my brother, this is a terrible tragedy……all because of poor communication and wrong decisions being made. Why didn’t they listen to the officer that insisted the road not be reopened due to the conditions. My brother,his family along with the other victims would still be alive today. My heart aches for my family as well as all the other victims families.
Sincerely……..the broken hearted
Lately it is hard to hold the cops to a higher level. The Flomaton chief is a prime example. Then there is the sheriff in Crestview, the police chief and his next in command in Crestview. And the list goes on and on. The FDLE always has a excuse for the cops “mistake”. Cops are people first and they are not perfect. When eleven people die because the man in charge didn,t know what he was doing and would not listen to other officers, that not acceptable.
Really CW??? FDLE always has an excuse? Who made the case on the Flomaton Police Chief, the Crestview Chief, his next in command and that list of yours that goes on? I think if you check your facts you will find it was FDLE.
Thank you Brandy.
People are suppose to hold law enforcement at a higher level but at the end of the day they are just human like the rest of us.
Lately it is hard to hold the cops to a higher level. The Flomaton chief is a prime example. Then there is the sheriff in Crestview, the police chief and his next in command in Crestview. And the list goes on and on. The FDLE always has a excuse for the cops “mistake”. Cops are people first and they are not perfect. When eleven people die because the man in charge didn,t know what he was doing and would not listen to other officers, that not acceptable.
I am so sad about this accident fatality….I don’t have any idea who or who not may have been at fault, but people should remember to take person responsibility when they are driving. If you can’t see because of fog or smoke, SLOW DOWN. Pull over if you have to. If you can’t see, it doesn’t make sense to forge ahead. You don’t know what is out there.
Sadly, this is not a perfect world and unfortunately very bad things happen for no apparent reason other than “communication” issues. It is really an “unacceptable” reason?…not really…it is however a very unfortunate one. Like I said, we are human and we hopefully learn from extremely terrible mistakes and do better. People are suppose to hold law enforcement at a higher level but at the end of the day they are just human like the rest of us. Thanks FDLE for all you do. I know personally you have to live with what you hear and see every day trying to make this a better community for us and that is not easy…
Eleven people died because of commnication? This a completely unexceptable reason. Someone didn,t do the job they are paid to do but it was not intentional. People died from the failure and now someone needs to/will pay. This is very hard to cover up isn,t it FDLE?